A United Nations arms embargo restricts
arms flows to Somalia. However, supplies to the Transitional Federal Government
(TFG) are allowed and the UN has urged the international community to supply
arms to the TFG and the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).

Somali non-state actors continue to obtain
weapons from external sources. Eritrea, in particular, is accused of having
supported Somali opposition groups since at least 2005.

The 1998 Rome Statute of the International
Criminal Court (ICC) promised to prosecute those most responsible for the
'unimaginable atrocities that deeply shock the conscience of humanity'.
The promise includes the unprecedented explicit criminalization of rape
and other forms of sexual violence in international humanitarian law.

(Stockholm, 12 May 2009) - Air cargo
companies involved in illicit or destabilizing arms transfers to African
conflict zones have also been repeatedly contracted to deliver humanitarian
aid and support peacekeeping operations, according to a
report released today by the Stockholm
International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

The report reveals that 90 per cent of
the air cargo companies identified in arms trafficking-related reports
have also been used by major UN agencies, EU and NATO member states, …